Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 996,112 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 245,028 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.32% of Hess worth $132,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Hess by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on HES shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $134.86 on Monday. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $161.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $139.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.43.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.

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